Conference season is upon us. Whether you’re a student, an early-career researcher, or a PI attending with members of your lab group, if you’re heading to a scientific conference this year, you’re probably looking for ways to keep your costs down. Conferences are a great opportunity for learning, inspiration, and networking, but the cost of getting there, feeding yourself, and finding a place to stay can quickly add up. Here are tips to help ease the financial burden.
Transportation
- Flying can be a major and unavoidable cost. Signing up for a loyalty program that allows you to collect points toward flights can help offset that cost in the long run. Here’s a comparison of what several of the major programs are offering, and here’s a ranking of the top six based on customer satisfaction.
- On your way home, when fatigue may be less of a concern, taking a night flight (or bus, or train) could save you a night in a hotel.
- To get around, use a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft. This is cheaper than hailing a traditional taxi. Depending on the size of the city, you can also use public transit. If you’re not going too far, you could even plan to walk to your destination. That fresh air may help you stay awake and alert for those early morning sessions!
- If you need a car to get around, rent one with your group and split the costs. Make sure you’re properly licensed to drive in your destination and have the recommended insurance.
Accommodations
- Conference hotels usually offer a discounted rate, but even this can be pricey. You don’t need to stay on-site; check out other possibly less expensive options beyond the conference site.
- When choosing your hotel, consider whether it offers a free breakfast and how much you’ll be paying to get from your room to the conference each day. Sometimes free food and a good location is enough to make up for a slightly higher face value.
- If you’re travelling alone and want to save money by sharing a room with a fellow conference-goer, some conferences use services (like Conference Share) to help match people up with roommates. The conference or your society may have a Facebook page or message board where you request a roommate.
- AirBnB can sometimes be a cheaper option than staying at a hotel, particularly if you can share the rental with colleagues. If you’re OK with cooking, you find one with a kitchen and save on restaurant costs. Be sure to check the reviews to make sure there are no deal-breakers… an apartment next to a train track that keeps you up all night isn’t going to be worth the savings.
- For the more adventurous traveller, hostels are a very inexpensive option. Just remember to bring earplugs and an eye mask so you can get a good night’s sleep if you’re in a dorm. Hostels typically allow you to cook your own food, which will help you save on food as well.
Registration
- Registration costs for conferences are often pretty steep, but many are looking for volunteers. For a few hours spent helping out at a welcome reception or sales table you get a significant discount on your registration.
- If you’re a student or in financial need, check up on your society’s website to see if there are any bursaries or other funding options to help defray registration and travel costs.
- If you’re the artistic type, conference organizers will sometimes hold contests to design the conference logo, with the prize being free registration.
- Before registering, go through the conference schedule and check out all the talks you’d like to see. If you’re attending for talks on a specific topic, or to see a certain symposium, it may not be necessary to attend all days of the conference, which could decrease your registration costs.
Food and Drink
- These costs can add up! Your hotel may provide breakfast. You can also stash a few little items, like a muffin or a bagel, in your bag to use as snack later. Pack some small, reusable containers to help keep things neat and tidy.
- If your hotel room has a mini-fridge, you can spirit away a wider variety of breakfast items, like yogurt cups or milk for cereal or restaurant leftovers. You can also visit the local grocery store and stock up. Check out some food hacks to try in your hotel room with minimal equipment.
- Of course, don’t forget the food available at the conference. You can often get enough food from the between-session snack tables to cobble together a reasonable lunch. Evening receptions and banquets, if they’re included in the cost of registration, can also provide meals you won’t have to pay out of pocket for.
- Remember to bring your water bottle or reusable coffee mug so you can fill up at fountains or conference-provided coffee urns instead of being tempted by the nearest Starbucks.
Other Savings and Tips
- Apply for any funding you can to help defray conference costs, even if it’s just $100 from your department because it all adds up, and several smaller bursaries might get you just as far as one larger one.
- If you’re fortunate enough to be reimbursed for your expenses while at the conference, bring along a dedicated envelope or wallet for keeping all your receipts in. They pile up quickly, and it’s very frustrating to find out back home that you won’t be reimbursed for a large expense because you’ve lost the receipt.
- If you pay taxes, remember that conference costs are business expenses and can usually be written off, so save up those receipts and make a note of how much you’ve spent.
With the right amount of planning and a few easy tricks, you can get all the benefits of attending a scientific conference this summer without having to bankrupt yourself doing it. And saving money doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. Eating free breakfasts and walking to the conference every day may save you enough that you can justify an evening out at a nice restaurant with colleagues to do the networking you came to do!
